Curious Attraction
by Isabella of the Night
Summary: AU. Oneshot. Ten brief moments between Hermione and the foreign DADA professor.


**A/n** - I got the urge to read a YYH/HP fic with the pairing of Kurama/Hermione but I couldn't find one unless there is one now? To be honest, I didn't search that hard lol. Would this be Kuramione? 0.o

So I wrote a oneshot about this pairing. Why would it work in a twisted way?

Well, Kurama is smart and so is Hermione. She could probably keep up with him in conversations and whatnot. if she doesn't, she'll probably research the hell out of it so she understands. Another is that I always pictured Hermione marrying an older man (maybe a teacher!)so Krum had a real fighting chance in my opinion. I could see Kurama playing mindgames with her while she guesses what's his motive XP

**disclaimer:** Don't own anything

**Setting**: I don't know. Slightly AU. EWE? Probably after Kurama renounces his demon past and hmm, Order of the Phoenix/mentions of The Deathly Hallows.

**Warning**: slight ooc since I have never wrote these two characters at all. Maybe slightly dark and mature themes? Since teenagers are having sex/getting pregnant, I figure the slight limey scene in here is suitable for the T rating. Tell me if you disagree & I'll up it anyway.

* * *

_Curious Attraction_

Summary- Before and after DH. EWE? Kurama/Hermione oneshot. Ten brief moments between them.

* * *

.

.

.

I.

The first time Hermione laid eyes on their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, she blushed and looked at her feet as she mumbled back a hello.

She is not the only one. The other girls soon followed after her.

Harry and Ron exchanged amused looks and Ron rolls his eyes. Thanks to Lockhart and Krum, they know that Hermione has a fond weakness for good-looking – Nay –handsome men.

The new professor – they were willing to bet on this mind you –exceeded Hermione's secret expectations and requirements for handsome men.

Long bright red hair flowed to the middle of the new professor's back. It is slightly wild and almost hides his eyes had it not been for the vivid color green. For a moment the whole class thought their new professor was a classic Irishman until his facial features registered in their mind as clearly Asian. His posture gave out the illusion of him perhaps being privileged, a pureblood but he is not. His coloring screams it out.

The professor smiles amusedly at the reaction he had generated in under a minute – blushing girls and glaring boys. He flicks a wrist towards the board where his name was clearly written along with his expectations for the class before beginning to speak.

"I apologize for my lack of presence at the welcoming dinner yesterday." He says, his soft voice sending shivers down the girls' spines. "You may address me as Professor Minamino or Minamino-Senpai if you wish to honor my Japanese traditions. I am here in England thanks to a friend of mine who has made his home in the wizarding community and introduced me to the Headmaster. Dumbledore has kindly asked me to teach students stronger defenses for a year at the very least."

He pauses and immediately Hermione snaps out of her girliness to pay more attention.

"I expect nothing but the best of all my classes. From those considered to be the best now I want you to push your boundaries further and accomplish more in this class. Laziness will be rewarded with a visit to your Head of House and detentions." Professor Minamino declared sending a serious glance to them all.

Hermione can't be certain but she thinks that his gaze lingers more on her than anyone else.

But perhaps that is wishful thinking.

II.

The first time Professor Minamino praises Hermione, she mentally took a step back but blushes in embarrassment at the proud looks from Harry and Ron and the glares of the other girls for being singled out.

The way he worded it however, made it seem like both a praise and a reprimand.

She had answered his questions correctly, dominated the class discussion until he praised her and rewarded points to Gryffindor. Hermione casted a suspicious glance at the DADA professor when Seamus accidentally set the teacher's desk on fire, ending the heated discussion that had taken place as soon as Hermione fell silent.

_Of course._

She met the emerald eyes of Professor Minamino and he slightly nodded at her before turning to one of his vases full of flowers that adorned the classroom, gently removed them, and threw the water at the fire.

"I am pleased at how the discussion went for this class. No homework this week but I expect everyone to be reading the next three chapters. Class dismissed." he said, a half-smile on his face before he turned his attention towards his desk once more. Picking up their belongings, the class left the classroom, more than half of them still continuing the discussion between friends.

She turned towards her best friends to gauge their reactions from the debate. Harry was in his thoughtful mood and Ron's ears were a bright red.

"Next week, Seamus isn't going to get the best of me." he muttered angrily as he flipped the pages of his book to the required reading before continuing, "Not next week."

Hermione wondered if their Professor was indeed manipulative enough to calculate how to smoothly shut up Hermione and bring the class into the discussion, firing up even the laziest to study.

III.

Without meaning to, Hermione accidentally runs into Professor Minamino on her way to her Divination class.

She lands unflattering on her butt, her robes landing mid-thigh as the contents of her bag scattered throughout the abandoned hall. The wind is momentarily knocked out of her. Despite his built, Professor Minamino is more muscular and hard than he really seems.

"Miss Granger." He says simply as if he had known she was right around the corner, running towards him.

But if he had, why didn't he move out of the way?

She quickly rearranged her robes and tried to put her stuff back into the bag. Kneeling gracefully on his knees, Professor Minamino gathered the books closest to him and handed them to her until one book caught his attention.

"Divination?" He raised an eyebrow at her, "Forgive me, but you do not seem the type to believe in such a dead art."

Hermione blushed.

"I don't and I dropped the class long ago, but Professor McGonagall told me I could still take the O.W.L. test for it if I really wanted to when I asked about sitting in O.W.L.S. for classes I haven't taken. I planned to do so." she replied, looking up as she received the books he handed over to her.

She can't read his face like she can with the others and she doubted she ever would. Professor Minamino reminded her of a politician, one who could masterfully twist words and play the crowd if he needed to. Hermione had already started to gather the evidence to support her theory.

Scattering her thoughts, she watched as he elegantly stood up and she did as well. He handed her the last book he had-the Divination book.

"Please do be careful to be on time for your classes as well as when running through the halls, Miss Granger." Professor Minamino said seriously as he looked down at her.

She nods and satisfied he walks away. Without meaning to, she watches him as he nears the corner of the hallway before swiftly switching to the other side. A few minutes later Harry and Ron appeared, running down the hall, also apparently late for class.

"Sorry Professor! Late!" apologized Harry without stopping.

Hermione heard half of a reprimand and a quick look at a smile pulling at his lips before Harry and Ron pulled her into the classroom.

They got twenty points off. She didn't care.

She wanted to know why he didn't move out of the way for her.

IV.

She is ashamed to admit that she has dreamt about the foreign professor to the other girls in her year. She wouldn't be the only one, the other girls shared dreams and fantasies about the extremely handsome professor as if they were trading cards or exchanging shoes.

She is Hermione Granger, a perfect literally and figuratively. She shouldn't be having such dreams but she does.

Somehow her dreams start from that moment where she lands on her butt and her robes around her thighs.

_"Are you all right, Miss Granger?" he asked as he leaned over her. She tries to stammer out a reply when suddenly the scene of the dream changes and he is lounging on the bed with his intense green eyes staring at her. There is an unfamiliar smile on his face and the lightening of the room made his eyes look golden for a moment._

_"May I help you with anything, Miss Granger?" he whispered huskily and a shiver went down her spine in desire._

_He is testing her. She is sure of it._

_So she'll make sure she passes with flying colors._

_"Yes, you may." she says, walking towards him boldly._

_She straddles him and his smile turns to one of amusement. He clasps a hand over her right wrist and she realizes that he could easily throw her out of his bedroom but instead he quickly reversed their positions._

_"Are you willing to follow this through Hermione?" _

She writhes and twists in her sleep as the dream gets more progressively passionate quickly.

_He kisses her skin softly as he travelled down her body. His hands travelled skillfully down her body like a skillful musician on a piano and she moans. He stopped briefly to quickly glance at her, a smirk on his face at her reactions. _

She wakes up. Her heart is throbbing, her breathing is fast, and there is an ache between her legs. It seemed too real for her liking. These dreams were always vivid to the point that Hermione always spend the mornings "intensely studying" for Transfiguration so the boys won't bother her and she could gather her composure.

She was lucky Professor Minamino always spent his mornings away from the Great Hall. If he was as very skilful as she suspected, he would read her lust for him with a glance. When it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hermione was composed as she always was.

Professor Minamino went around the classroom, asking students how their weekend had gone and if they needed help with clarifying anything. When he reached her, she was scanning over her notes from the previous class, and she looked up at him.

"Did you sleep well, Miss Granger?" asked Professor Minamino, a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips, with something unreadable in his eyes. He looks at her slyly as if he knows just exactly what she has been dreaming about the night before. The question was unexpected, not one she had planned for, and she reacted before she could think about it.

She ducks her head and blushes in embarrassment.

He chuckles and passes by her to move to Harry, leaving a scent trail of roses.

V.

At the end of the school year, Professor Minamino passes back their last assignment and dismisses his class. Dragged out by Harry and Ron, Hermione didn't have a chance to go over her graded assignment. They spent the day outside by the lake exactly like a few certain people Harry had seen in a pensive. Minus the bullying unless Draco taunting Harry counted.

It is before she gets ready for bed that Hermione finally checks her assignment to see that she got a perfect score on it. She sighs in relief. The assignment had been to take a Japanese legend and apply it to what they knew of demons thanks to Professor Minamino's teachings throughout the year. She had poured her heart and soul into making her explanations original and exceptional.

_Excellent work, Miss. Granger_, he had written in an elegant cursive,_ I see you have taken my advice into consideration while writing this and though your knowledge of what the legend really depicts is lacking, I have given you full credit. If ever you feel like visiting Japan to learn more about its magical culture, do not hesitate to ask me for help or stop by._

Underneath was the name Minamino Shuichi along with an address and a phone number. Hermione can't help the smile that breaks on her face. She'll go to his office tomorrow to personally thank him. For now, she hides the note inside her Defense book.

That is what she was planning on until she arrives in the Great Hall for breakfast only to see Professor Minamino's seat empty. Lavender, a fan of the foreign professor (and gossip), tells her he had left in a hurry because his brother was graduating soon and did not want to miss it. Her heart clenched at the missed opportunity until she spotted Ron talking with his mouth full to Harry. She hurries to scold him for talking to him with his mouth full.

This is the last she thinks of Professor Minamino.

VI.

It is when she's trying to decide which books would be necessary on their quest that she finds the tucked in assignment in her Defense Against the Dark Arts book. Hermione had been leafing through it, to see if there was enough potential important information to take along just in case, when she saw the elegant cursive of the foreign professor.

With trembling hands, Hermione looked over it and smiled. Professor Minamino had been one of the few that had challenged her learning, pushed her to be her best. Her fingers ran over the neat rows of his address and she neatly cut the part that contained his phone number and address before slipping it back inside the book.

Then she placed the book inside her small beaded bag. Perhaps she'll call him and ask his advice for the horcruxes hunt. A few days later, Hermione Granger had put Professor Minamino out of her mind as she and her friends staked out the Ministry of Magic.

VII.

When the war is over, Hermione finds the piece of paper with Professor Minamino's address on it by accident. She had tipped her purse over and quickly backed away as everything fell out onto the floor. Her once elegant bag was torn, no longer beaded, with dirt here and there. Hermione kept forgetting to wash it with her wand, convinced she had to wash it by hand. The neatly cut square piece of paper fluttered to her feet like a subject bowing before its queen. Hermione picks it up and reads the first line on it. _Minamino Shuichi_.

She remembers his handsomeness, his slight interest in her, and decides she needs a change of routine. The aftermath of the final battle was heartbreaking, the media was ruthless, and everyone wanted to pry into the more exclusive relationship she had with Harry (a result of Ron abandoning them for a while).

Hermione boldly gets on a flight to Japan three days later.

Harry was the only one who knew her plans and had approved. She knew his plans to quietly disappear from Britain for a while and approved. He had gently refused to go with her to Japan, stating he wanted to go to Istanbul instead. So she went alone, never bothering to ask Ron if he wanted to go. Ron was basking in the limelight and couldn't understand why Harry and Hermione were withdrawn.

While traveling, she went sightseeing, until Hermione found the address she was looking for. Standing in front of the house, she hesitated for a moment and rang the doorbell. A woman in her early fifties answered the door with a brilliant smile. Her courage wavered. Despite the fact that the language spell she casted on herself made sure she spoke perfect Japanese, Hermione couldn't find the words to reveal why she was there.

"Ah, please forgive me," she says stammering, "A friend of mine gave me this address and told me to stop by if I ever visit Japan. I'm sorry to bother you but does Minamino Shuichi lives here?"

The woman brightens and gestures her to come in.

"My son-Shuichi Minamino-no longer lives here but he does visit me for dinner everyday. You're just in time! My name is Hatanaka Shiori and yours?" asked the cheerful woman as she lead her into the kitchen.

"Where are my manners?" Hermione cried before continuing, "I am Granger Hermione."

At her name, Shiori's eyes widen and her face took on a familiar look.

"Yes, Shuichi mentioned your name more than a few times when recounting his teaching year abroad. Number one in your year in all classes!" said Shiori as she seated Hermione down and began to prepare dinner.

Looking closely, Hermione could see that Mrs. Hatanaka had the same facial features as her son as well as the skin coloring. She is a nice woman and Hermione finds herself bonding with her effortlessly. It is not until the front door softly clicks open and shut that they realized it was almost dinner time.

"Mother, I'm here." a soft familiar voice called out from the entrance.

She sees from the corner of her eye Shiori getting up to greet her son and focuses on the current page of the photo album Shiori was pointing out to her.

"Guess who came to see you, dear?" teased Shiori as she gave Shuichi a hug and kiss on the cheek. He smiles and chuckles as he hung up his coat.

"I don't know Mother. Who?" he asked as he entered the living room. Hermione hears his footsteps stop abruptly.

She looks up to see Minamino staring at her in shock before masking his emotions. She knows what he sees, she herself sees it every day in the mirror -the eyes of a veteran, a war hero. The wizarding war had aged her to a point where she is surprise not to see white strands of hair highlighting her brown hair.

Minamino Shuichi had given up seeing her in Japan after setting up a tantalizing offer she couldn't pass up (satisfying what was wrong with her view on the legend she picked) and she didn't pick it up. Looking at her, he realized the brewing war he had sensed had finally hit the wizarding community and she had been at the center of it all with her best friends Harry and Ron.

There is a faint scar on her upper arm that in just the right amount of light reads _Mudblood_ and he knows she is trying to renounce her past (just like he did). For a moment Hermione catches a glimpse of something in his face but before she could pin what it was he smiles.

"Welcome to Japan, Hermione Granger. You'll find what you need here." he says in English before turning to his mother and continuing in Japanese, "I assume you have already invited her to stay for dinner, Mother?"

He is right. She does.

VIII.

He is gentle with her, treats her as if she is made of glass about to break, and for that she is thankful. There is no skill of being subtle back in the wizarding world. They don't know the horrors the Golden Trio went through to win the war. The reporters never saw the faint scarring on her upper arm that told her blood status.

Or perhaps they didn't want to see. But he saw, and made sure to gently ease her back into the muggle world.

It is when they're at the cherry blossoms festival that Hermione finally cracked and said, "My parents don't know they have a daughter. In fact, they're more happier than I ever saw them. So I left them in Australia like that, happy and carefree. Harry thinks I'm making a mistake."

She's crying and it's only when he takes her in his arms for a hug that she realizes so. Surrounded by his scent of roses and the scent of cherry blossoms, it hit Hermione that she falling in love with the former professor (now florist). They pulled apart and he scans her face for emotions.

She knew the moment it hit him that she was in love with him and the corners of his mouth tugged slightly up. Briefly, he leans in and quickly kissed her on the lips.

That was the start of their romantic relationship.

A year later, he asks her to marry him. She agrees.

IX.

She goes back to England one final time to wrap up the magical chapter of her life. Harry understands. He would like to escape the spotlight of being The-Man-Who-Won, The Saviour, but he realized how difficult it was when he traveled to Istanbul and accidentally defeated the Sultan of Darkness that had oppressed the magical community there for decades. He came back with another name to be called and his future wife (former damsel in distress and descendant of a powerful Persian princess).

Ron is outraged. She had led him on, according to him. Their fallout is greater than she thought it would be but she doesn't care. She doesn't care if she burned almost all the bridges she had in Great Britain.

Harry tells her to keep in touch.

Over the years that pass by, she does. Distance doesn't shatter their friendship.

X.

There are moments where Shuichi would go off on long trips with his friends. The old Hermione Granger would have been curious and suspicious about where her handsome husband went off to but Hermione Minamino was content to stay with her mother-in-law and her child. (She asked Keiko once about it to which Keiko replied that it was like a girls night out except it was 'let's go to the woods and survive while bonding.')

She held a letter from Harry in her hands. He'll come to visit with his family on Christmas. Hermione is godmother to Liliana Jean Potter, a little girl who took after the "strong women in the first half of my life" as Harry put it nicely. He planned on naming his second daughter after Khadija and Andromeda somehow. She smiled sadly, she was not strong for the war still affected her greatly sometimes, to the point she'll suddenly wake in the middle of the night, her heart pounding.

Tonight was one of those nights and she wakes up, startling her husband awake. Immediately, his arms are around her, calming down the pounding heart, and she relaxed.

"It is over. You're safe." he stated and she nodded.

Some days when someone provokes Shuichi's anger to the front and Hermione is there, it seems that Shuichi's eyes are golden but when she peers closer, they are the same emerald eyes she loves so.

Not for the first time, Hermione wonders what was Shuichi Minamino's past and if it was even more terrible than what she went through to save the world. She always wanted to ask him during these times, when the night cloaks their faces from each other.

She opens her mouth to ask him but what comes out was, "Good night."

He smiles gently.

"Good night." he whispers in that soft voice, sending thrills down her spine. Hermione is content enough to let his past go. There were some things not worth finding out because that is how brief life is. While curiosity hadn't killed the cat, it had scared her enough to be content with what is in front of her.

She sees a caring, handsome husband who is a doting father to his only daughter. Hermione Minamino doesn't try to pry into the shady pasts of his friends Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei either.

And her husband knows. Understands. Doesn't try to peak her curiosity too much like before when he had been Professor Minamino. He is also content to let things be as they are even though he wants to pry into the lost year she refuses to speak about. The one that made Harry and Hermione share thankful glances at what they had achieved since then-peace, joy, and a family.

Because he knows too well how brief human lives really are.

* * *

A/n - What do you think? Hate it? Love it? What the hell was I smoking when I wrote this? What genre category would this fit into?

I decided to give Harry a different ending even though I could've gone with canon for him.

So I've been cleaning my doc manager and uploading oneshots to clear it up. I'm hoping to upload updates to my stories as well so if you are waiting for Family Doesn't End to be updated, don't worry! It will be soon.

Please review!


End file.
